Egypt reopens Rafah crossing with Gaza - sources

August 25, 2012|Reuters

ISMAILIA, EGYPT/GAZA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Egypt reopened theRafah border crossing with Gaza on Saturday, a lifeline forGazans which had been closed for much of the month since an Aug.5 attack on Egyptian guards, Palestinian and Egyptian securitysources said.

The move signals an advance in relations between Egypt's newgovernment lead by President Mohammed Mursi and Gaza's Islamistrulers Hamas, which had deteriorated since the attack in whichgunmen killed 16 Egyptian soldiers on the Israeli border.

"The Egyptian side has informed us that the Rafah crossingwould open all days of the week, without more details," saidEhab Al-Ghsain, spokesman for the interior ministry in Gaza.

The opening of the crossing was confirmed by an Egyptiansecurity source.

Shortly after the attack, Egypt closed the Rafah crossingand moved to seal myriad smuggling tunnels with Gaza onsuspicion they might have been used by militants who shot deadthe soldiers before storming an Israeli border crossing nearGaza. The attackers were killed by Israeli fire.

The Rafah crossing normally sees some 800 people a day leavefor Egypt and beyond, and is the only window on the world forthe vast majority of Gazans.

Egypt later said it would open the crossing temporarily, butjust for three days, mainly to permit travel for humanitarianpurposes such as Palestinians seeking medical care abroad.

Hamas has ruled out suggestions that Palestinian gunmen tookpart in the Sinai killings and has criticised Cairo for imposing"collective punishment" on the impoverished Mediterraneancoastal enclave by sealing the border.

Hamas hoped the election of the Muslim Brotherhood's Mursiwould usher in an era of strong ties between Gaza and Cairo, butthat has yet to materialise because of strategic considerationsinvolving Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel and relatedmilitary aid from the United States.